A Landry Keepsake – Death Notice for Narcisse

My great great grandfather Narcisse Landry died in 1876.

Now here is something that you don’t see every day.  This is a death notice of one of my ancestors from 1876.  Imagine that!  A delicate piece of paper that survived over 140 years.  Yet I came across two copies of this same death notice less than two weeks apart.  I had never even thought to look for such a thing.  When I saw the first one, I was amazed.  Then when I saw the second one, I was even more amazed.

This death notice is for my great great grandfather Narcisse Landry.  He was born in St. Gabriel, Louisiana, on January 31, 1796.  (My dad had the same birthday.)  Narcisse was the son of Joseph Ignatius Landry and Olive Elizabeth Breaux.  Narcisse was married to Marie Carmelite Hebert on Feb. 13, 1819.  They had eight children together including Simon Alcide Joseph, who went by the name Alcide.  Narcisse died on November 19, 1876. 

I first saw this document on Facebook on August 17 in the group “Our Ancestors in Photos,” which is a group for people who have family or ancestors who lived in West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana.   A cousin named Debbie posted it, but it belonged to Jocelyn from Addis.  I mentioned her in a previous post because we descend from two generations of Landry brothers.  My family descends from Narcisse, while her family descends from his brother Elie (1790-1848).

Then, less than two weeks later, I got together with my cousins and godparents to exchange old photos.  After looking through several photos from Tricia’s Tin Can Collection and taking photos of them, it came time to look at Daphne’s Secret Collection.  And there in a binder with sleeves holding various ephemera was a group of old death notices that my grandmother had collected.  Imagine my surprise when I saw another copy of the death notice for Narcisse Landry.

This death notice is for my great great great grandfather Narcisse Landry.  He was born in St. Gabriel, Louisiana, on January 31, 1796.  (My dad had … yadda yadda yadda … eight children together including Jean Trasimond, who went by the name Trasimond.  Narcisse died on November 19, 1876.

I descend from Narcisse twice.  His son Alcide was the father of Robert Joseph Landry, Sr.  He in turn was the father of Robert Joseph Landry, Jr., my own father.  Narcisse’s son Trasimond was the father of Marie Therese Landry Patureau.  She was the mother of Germaine Erie Patureau Landry.  Erie was my dad’s mom.  You can see on the paper from Daphne’s collection that it identifies Narcisse as the father of “Trasamond.”  That suggests that it was passed down through my grandmother.

But my grandmother was born in 1895, which is almost 20 years after the death of her great grandfather.  So someone held on to this paper when it was printed in 1876.  If it was Trasimond, he didn’t keep it for long because he died in 1879.  Marie Therese was only 8 years old in 1876, so I wouldn’t think that she would have been the one to save it.  It’s more likely that Trasimond’s wife Marie Amelie “Belite”Bujol kept it safe for many years.  Mee Maw must have inherited it when Grandma Belite died in 1924, since her mom Marie Therese had died in 1909.  Mee Maw was very much interested in family history and held on to it until her death in 1973.  Aunt Germaine must have gotten it at that point, and now Daphne is the keeper of the Secret Collection which contains the keepsake.

Jocelyn from Addis’s family tree shows our Landry connection. We also connect through the Leveque, White and Gassie ancestors shown on her tree.

The other copy passed down a different trail of the family.  Narcisse’s brother Elie’s family to be exact.  Elie had a son name Jean Joseph Trasimond Landry.  He was married to Marine Emelina Landry.  Yes, those names are too similar. Since Narcisse died after both of them, the document that Jocelyn from Addis had in her possession must have been originally saved by their daughter Marine Anna Landry.  Her daughter Aimee Delahaye probably had it in her care for a time.  Aimee’s son Joseph Myhand was the next caretaker for this document, but eventually it came into the hands of his daughter Jocelyn from Addis.

And now that document is in my hands!  That’s right!  Jocelyn let me have that paper that has been protected by her family through several generations.  Thank you, Jocelyn.  Thank you, Joseph.  And you also Aimee, Marina, Trasimond and Emelina.  I will try to take good care of it and share it with others.  See?  I’ve started already.